I wear my mind

A year ago when I left home, half of my heart was heavy 'coz I was leaving my home sweet home for 2 years but surprisingly, other half of me was very happy. Happy and excited to be precise. And the reason for my happiness was of course my freedom.

In my mind, there was, for the next 2 years of my life, I won't be answerable to anyone else than myself. I would be responsible to my own acts and actions and that wouldn't be a trouble for anyone else. No one would be there to limit my time to return home, no one to ask my daily schedule, no one would say me to laugh or talk or walk in a certain way, no one would be there to say me this and that and most of all, no one would say me what to wear.

Frankly speaking when I was in Nepal I never wore any dresses that were shorter than knee length out of home in streets. Not that my parents had any restrictions but my society had. They stared girls in shorts and skirts and whistled them or I would say embarrassed the girls. Which girl in the earth wouldn't love to be appreciated but here it would be something else. And I come from a country where the rape perpetrators put an allegation that the victims' clothing forced them to. No matter how hot it would be, I always wore Jeans, half or full sleeved tee, and if my tee was sleeveless I wore an outer and a shawl/ scarf was mandatory to hide my chest whenever I stepped out of my house. Any thing beside this in my wardrobe was out of question for me.

When it was decided I was coming to Europe, I had pre-warned my mom that I would be wearing shorts and skirts and dresses that would be shortest of short I would be comfortable to flaunt so that she wouldn't be shocked to see me in photos.  That was my unfulfilled desire to dress up while I was in Nepal. 

I thought I could enjoy my freedom while I was in Europe. I always envied those tourists who came to Nepal. I used to think they lived their life as a Free spirit without any obligations and limitations. But, the Europe I see now is same like Nepal. Women can not dress the way they want to. They are asked/forced/ordered to dress in a certain way in the name of security??? How does the peace and prosperity of a country depend on women's style of clothing is out of my thinking capacity. 

Be it in Asia or Europe, it is always women whose dressing sense should be in a certain acceptable manner. While the level of acceptance varies with each country but the preference of a woman is never considered. We are judged anyways- be it covered or naked. 

Please let us wear what we want. Let us cover our body the way our mind wants us to. Let me wear my mind.

(When they banned Burkina for women in France)
26th August 2016.